The show returned to Atlanta, exhibiting innovative products, extensive training courses and rich exchange opportunities.
Since 2001, the 2019 Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Expo has returned to Atlanta for the first time, and it has achieved great success in any way. This year’s exhibition hall showcased 1,824 companies from the entire industry, including 497 international exhibitors.
This year, the AHR Expo used radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for the first time to verify attendance. This can scan everyone without delaying the crowd, and without causing long waits. (In the past few years, the show relied on pre-registration and on-site registration to quantify the number of visitors.)
All of this means that the exhibition can capture every attendee who walks through the door and track the data obtained from the exhibition time and meeting time. The attendance was strong in 2019, with a total verified attendance of 45,078.
“The HVACR industry is currently in a very exciting position, and this year’s exhibition floor clearly reflects this vitality,” said Mark Stevens, AHR Expo’s exhibition manager. “Participants from all over the world and all corners of the industry have made this exhibition a success. Both the attendees and exhibitors have given good feedback on the quality of the network, and look forward to seeing the products and technologies in the Orlando showroom next year Many such connections.” The 2020 AHR Expo is scheduled to take place at the Orlando Convention Center on February 3-5.
The expo is co-sponsored by ASHRAE and AHRI, and is recognized by many industry-leading organizations, and is held concurrently with the ASHRAE Winter Conference (see our cover story ASHRAE summarizing the successful 2019 AHR Expo).
Armstrong Fluid Technologies announced that all of its design envelope solutions have a new feature. All Design Envelope pumps will have the ability to predict and detect cavitation in the pump and send alerts to previously established contacts. The ability to detect cavitation and issue an alarm will limit energy loss and equipment damage.
Aquatherm displayed new PP-R pipes and fittings with larger diameters, but the real eye-catcher at the Aqutherm booth was McElroy’s new large-diameter hot melt machine, which can form joints on site.
Bosch brought many new products at the exhibition, including its interconnected control thermostat, SSB industrial boiler, Greenstar gas condensing boiler and SM Rev C geothermal heat pump. However, with its flexibility, making it an ideal choice for refurbishment applications, it may be that its new micro-products have had the greatest impact. The Climate 5000 small split heat pump system is the ideal choice for residential heating and cooling capacity up to 48,000 Btuh. The system is quiet, driven by a frequency converter, and can operate normally within the extended working range of -13F to 122F.
Emerson displayed various ASCO solenoid valves and electro-hydraulic gas safety shut-off valves. These products meet the certifications of leading agencies and are ideal for boilers, ovens, furnaces, gas generators and heating equipment in commercial and industrial applications. The company’s AH2(E) switch actuator and AH4(E) low-high-close actuator were also exhibited. These electro-hydraulic electric actuators are compatible with the V710 gas valve body and can provide reliable on/off and low-high-off control for the main gas pipelines of industrial and commercial burners.
Lochinvar announced the release of its micro CHP (Combined Heat and Power) XRGI 25 combined heat and power system. It produces 480 volts of three-phase 24 kW of power and captures 163,000-Btuh of power from the engine exhaust, achieving an amazing efficiency of 93%. You can start with pg and get the complete story from columnist Dave Yates. twenty four
Niles Steel Tank introduced the Power Plates water heating system for the first time, which can be provided with the customer’s choice of a storage tank up to 2500 gallons. Power plate heat exchangers can provide high heat transfer rates and require less surface area than conventional shell or tube heat exchangers. Groove connection is convenient for boiler connection.
Poloplast is a German company dedicated to establishing its position in the North American market. They manufacture PP-R pipes for piping and mechanical systems. The company’s piping and fittings are designed to be assembled into a system with a longer service life, extremely environmentally friendly, and efficient operating characteristics in a quick and cost-sensitive manner.
Rinnai made two major announcements on AHR, namely the I series boiler and Demand Duo2. The I series can be used for domestic heating and domestic hot water production at the same time. If the heat is constantly radiating and someone in the house wants to take a bath, then the heat will not be interrupted. The technology also includes an innovative bypass servo valve that can precisely control the hot water temperature. The boiler has two models, combined type and pure heat type, and is equipped with multi-zone heating control as standard.
With the success of the current commercial product line, Demand Duo 2 combines the hybrid technology of the Demand Duo product line with the redundancy and performance of its commercial rack system. The system has a 119-gallon water storage tank and two CU199 forest water heaters with independent racks that can work together to provide the greatest advantages of tank and tankless technology. The 119-gallon storage tank provides built-in redundancy and storage capabilities to cope with high peak consumption – no need to purchase multiple storage tank water heaters.
The number one event at the Taco Comfort Solutions booth is the 0018e high-efficiency Bluetooth circulator. The 0018e powered by ECM is a solution for those contractors who want the durability, efficiency and simplicity of other Taco ECM circulators, and at the same time need more system feedback and control functions. The circulator has a Bluetooth communication function with mobile applications, which can provide real-time control, diagnosis, and reports, such as installation history, power consumption, performance, and running time. The installer can choose between multiple constant speed, proportional pressure and constant pressure modes, as well as Taco’s self-adjusting proportional pressure mode activeADAPT™.
Taco also touted its new 4900 series magnetic dirt separator, which provides double-acting separation for closed-loop hydraulic heating systems. In addition to the patented PALL ring technology, the 4900 separator also uses a powerful 13,000 Gauss magnet, which can be easily blown down by opening the valve at the bottom of the container. Available sizes range from ¾” to 2” NPT, and from ¾” to 1-1/2” sweat.
Victaulic demonstrated a new grooved piping system specifically designed for chlorinated polyvinyl chloride/polyvinyl chloride (CPVC / PVC) pipes. The system is designed for use with Schedule 40 and 80 CPVC and PVC pipes, and includes a full range of ready-to-install joints, fittings and pipe preparation tools.
The booth also displayed Victaulic’s CG1100 grooving tool. It can cut PGS-300 into 2-12 inches / DN50-DN300 Schedule 40 and 80 CPVC / PVC pipe. The tool is portable, lightweight, and can be purchased or leased.
Now, Viega’s MegaPress technology can be used for stainless steel pipes up to 4 inches. Three new joint sizes were exhibited at the booth, namely 2½”, 3″ and 4″, adding to the existing ½”, ¾”, 1″, 1½ MegaPress stainless steel products, “and 2″ sizes can be included Various applications including maintenance and repairs create a comprehensive lineup. Compared with traditional pipe connection methods, MegaPress fittings can reduce installation time by up to 90%. The MegaPressStainless XL connector combines productivity with peace of mind. Equipped with the patented Viega SmartConnect® technology, the installer can easily identify the unstressed connection during the stress test.
WaterFurnace’s Versatech variable-capacity water-source geothermal installation has a capacity of 3 to 6 tons and 10 to 15 tons, demonstrating a new commitment to the commercial and industrial markets. All units can be configured in horizontal or vertical cabinets, are equipped with variable speed Copeland scroll compressors, integrated EC direct drive fan motors, and are constructed of heavy-duty, environmentally friendly galvanized steel cabinets.
AHR Expo awarded enVerid Systems with its 2019 Best Product Award. enVerid’s HVAC Load Reduction® (HLR) module 1000E-M was also recognized as the winner of the 2019 Innovation Awards in the green building category. Each year, winners are selected from a total of 10 industry categories.
The research published at AHR Expo points out the best way forward for the deployment of smart home technology. Result: Due to the diversity of end-user needs, multi-dwelling units (MDU) are still underserved. At the same time, they are located at the intersection of a single family (which benefits most from smart home innovation) and commercial buildings, sharing the characteristics of each family. What is important is that MDU has the scale to invest in new technologies, has a closer relationship with residents’ satisfaction, and senior management is more directly involved in investment decision-making. This makes MDU the best choice for smart home innovation and experimentation.
Erik Wytrwal, consultant of data analysis company Stochastic Marketing, is specially designed for HVACR and plumbing contractors. He discussed the relationship between low-cost/low-value potential customers and higher-cost/high-value potential customers. Not all potential customers are equal, and low-value potential customers may cause your business to take root instead of generating more business.
On the second day of AHR Expo 2019, AutomatedBuildings.com publisher Ken Sinclair invited a panel of experts from the IoT and building automation industries to join him in a panel discussion on the new field of connectivity and our “digital journey”. Part of the 7th Annual Connecting Community Cooperative Organization. Panellists include Marc Petock, chief marketing and communications officer of Lynxspring, Inc., which provides customers with building automation, energy management and system integration solutions. George Thomas, President of Electronic Product Manufacturer Contemporary Controls, who works with customers to apply network solutions to automation projects; TroO Davis, Sales Director of EnOcean, Inc., who applies patented energy harvesting technology for building automation and smart homes Control; Martin Villenuve, President of Distech-Controls (the company connects people with smart building solutions). (Please visit contractormag.com online for the complete article.)
Viega’s Bo DeAngelo and Plastic Pipe Institute’s Lance MacNevin joined forces to discuss the basic principles of cyclic snow melting. Benefits, installation skills, typical applications, control strategies, etc. (For the complete writing, please go to page 6.)
Advantages of Manifold Flowmeter in RadiantPresenter Design and Installation: Radiant Professional Alliance
By accurately transmitting the GPM to the radiation panel to control the output, the manifold flowmeter makes the design possible.
The latest research published at AHR Expo shows that compared with other traditional employee benefits (such as bonuses, fitness benefits, and flexible working hours), construction quality ranks second in terms of improving employee satisfaction and productivity. Only private offices can achieve a negligible advantage in terms of construction quality. Since 80% of the budget of most organizations is used for employees and 10% is used for construction, it makes sense to spend more money to provide a high-quality work environment to increase employee loyalty and work efficiency. (Host: Continental Automation Construction Association.)
Distribution efficiency: An often overlooked advantage of hydropower technology. Presenter: Radiation Professional Alliance
This meeting conducted by John Siegenthaler first defined the concept of distribution efficiency, and then compared the distribution efficiency of a reasonably designed and poorly designed hydraulic system with forced air and VRF systems. (For the full text of this meeting, please see Dave Yates’ March column)
The 2021 AHR Expo is scheduled to be held at the McCormick Exhibition Center in Chicago from January 25 to 27, but if COVID-19 cases continue to increase in the city and nationwide, the show organizers are developing alternative plans for live performances . The statement is as follows:
“In order to explore all the options, we recently conducted a survey among exhibitors and our co-sponsoring groups to investigate whether it is possible to reschedule the live event to be held from March 15 to 17, 2021.
“We are always committed to the safety and welfare of all our guests, and continue to study current events and their impact on the AHR Expo 2021. Considering the uncertainty of the pandemic and the changing restrictions in Illinois and the City of Chicago, we believe that the date is changed to Providing an extra seven weeks of planning and preparation time may be a wise decision.
“HVAC&R continues to play a vital role in the management of COVID19 and the impact of this global pandemic. We understand the importance of meeting in person to learn and share ideas on how to mitigate the current situation and future threats. As we move into In the post-pandemic world, we are committed to supporting every member of our industry.”
Post time: Mar-08-2021
